Monday, July 25, 2011

It was the
team’s worst throttling since the April 25,
1974 Kansas City massacre in which the Royals pummeled the Twins to the
tune of 23-to-6. The only other time the team would allow 20 runs would be in
their inaugural season in which they lost – once again in Kansas City but to
the Athletics - 20-to-2.

Don't be fooled: neither Kansas City team had the offensive firepower nor
hitter-friendly ballpark and atmosphere found at the Ballpark in Arlington. The
Rangers ripped through Nick Blackburn and then the Twins bullpen. Ron
Gardenhire continued to pull another arm out each inning like his relievers
were Kleenex. After burning through four arms, he called upon the player whose has
played just about everywhere else: Michael Cuddyer.

To me, it
seemed that MLB.com’s pitch f/x system had difficulties classifying the 16
pitches Cuddyer threw towards the plate, considering some four-seamers, others
changeups, a few cutters and a pair of sliders. This isn’t unusual for the
pitch f/x system to have difficulties labeling a pitch – especially one with
the erratic tendencies of a super utility player. However, when asked about his
repertoire after the game, Cuddyer
told MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger that he did indeed through an assortment of
pitches (or at least attempted to throw them).

Color me
surprised.

You would
figure that a player such as Cuddyer would get in there and grip and rip. Maybe
try to throw that snap-dragon bender he had been working on while warming up
with the fellow outfielders.

Judging from
his short-arm, three-quarter inconsistent
slot it’s easy to see why the fielder had difficulties putting the
finishing touches on a sinker or pinpoint command of his fastball. Still, blessed
with a good arm in the outfield, the radar gun, as well as the pitch f/x
cameras, caught Cuddyer’s fastball traveling 88 miles per hour (a Delorean
fastball). While we don’t have data to see how this compared to the franchises
more recent position-player-turned-pitchers in John Moses and Dan Gladden, I
would wager that he was throwing harder than they ever did.

Mercifully,
the Rangers somehow didn’t score a run off of him in spite of the defense’s
best efforts. Pending any more opponent outbursts, Cuddyer is likely safe to
retire his pitcher’s glove and go down in Minnesota history with Cesar Tovar as
the only position players with 0.00 ERAs.

About OtB

"Parker Hageman is the Michael Cuddyer of Twins bloggers -- not the flashiest guy out there, but a solid everyday player. Hageman produces spot-on analysis ... relying on in-depth stats and lots of charts. He takes a sober, performance-based view of players, letting others fall for a player's heart or his leadership skills in the clubhouse. Hageman is one of the four pillars holding up the Star Tribune's TwinsCentric blog."